What products, if any, can you recommend for a dog that is urine marking in the house.

A little background which I think is important.. My grandson adopted 2 dogs a couple of years ago from Tall Tails Rescue about a year apart. They were both very shy with strangers (almost fearful) but have come around somewhat. Back in May my grandson had to move back home and lives in the lower level of the house. Leo and Diesel have adapted well thanks to my daughter who has gotten them into a routine. However, Diesel is urine marking in the house. Right now there is only one recliner downstairs because Diesel chewed the sofa down to the frame. He has also chewed blankets and an area of her wood molding.

I guess I should mention that he is a hound dog (not sure if pure bred) and he is neutered. He has been checked by a vet and there does not appear be anything wrong with him physically. Not sure if this is important but both dogs are by themselves for a good part of the day. My granddaughter lets them out at lunch time before going to college.

Diesel obviously has a behavior problem and probably needs professional help which they cannot afford at this time.

In the interim do you have any suggestions?

Are any of the otc products effective (either plug-ins, supplements, etc.)?

Thank you

Dr.Magnifico:
I hope this message finds you and your family well.
I actually have a concern not about one of my pets but one of my daughter’s cat. Frisky (my grandboy cat of 12 years).
2 weeks ago my daughter noticed he had an odor of urine. She had tried a new litter and thought it was due to the muddy consistency. She bathed him with no luck and decided to take him to a vet in her area. Frisky is a very cool easy going gentle cat . Unfortunately, when he went to the vet, my daughter said he turned into the cat from hell. They were unable to treat him but managed to give him his rabies. He was prescribed 100mg gabapentin to be taken that night and then one more an hour before his visit the next day. She described him as acting stoned starting with the first capsule. He was fine at the vets office but sadly has been diagnosed with kidney disease. The following 3 levels are off the chart: IDEXX SDMA 63, CREATININE 8.6, BUN 165. The following levels are slightly elevated: Phosphorus 9.9, Anion Gap 27, Total Protein 9.4, MCH 17.6, Monocytes .646.
Frisky was put on a special renal diet with phosphorus powder added (to bind the phosphorus). He is supposed to go back to the vets on Monday to have his kidneys flushed in hopes of flushing toxins I guess.
My concern is that he has trouble processing the gabapentin due to his kidneys.
You know how much I value your opinion and I truly love Frisky. If one of my cats presented all these issues, would you recommend the same treatment? I am also extremely concerned considering what I have read about the toxicity of gabapentin with kidney disease. I am very surprised by his behavior at the vets but obviously he needs something in order to calm him down. Would you recommend an alternative to gabapentin? I believe they gave her a liquid for Monday’s visit opposed to the pill that was used for the previous visit. Have you seen the use of special food and the flushing of kidneys to help improve some of these numbers and allow him some time with a good quality of life? I hope I have provided as much information that you may need.
As always, I appreciate your insight very much.

Thank you
Sandy Brown

Princess, one of my cats was seen Sunday for having her days and nights mixed up and a lump on her belly. Up through last Thursday she would do anything she could to get me up from knocking things over to stepping on the alarm clock and my CPAP machine.

She was seen Sunday and overall visit looked good.

However, starting Friday night she has only meowed one time. Unknown to me at the time of the visit was that she had thrown up a strip of soft plastic that covers the sticky side if envelopes. My husband saw it and cleaned it up. He said it was folded similar to an accordion. This probably happened during the last night that she was talking all night and into the morning.

She is eating okay but is sleeping most of the day or night. She also is either sneezing or coughing at times. I don’t know which one but she stretches her neck out and makes this repetitive noise.

Is it possible that the plastic may have scratched her throat and that is why she will not meow? I have an appointment for today that I made before bringing her to the clinic on Sunday. I am debating as to whether I should bring her back to be checked.

Dr. Magnifico

I made an appointment for Princess to see you on September 8th. She is overdue her shots and I sent a question that you responded to about her having her days and nights mixed up. Last night though while giving her extra attention and rubbing I found a lump on her belly. What is strange is that she slept all night and got up only to get up to eat and go in the litter box. I called the clinic to see if there were any openings but they are booked.
They were going to see if anyone had time just to check her belly. Such a quick change from 24 hours and I was concerned because she was sleeping all night. However within the last 5 minutes she is up playing so i think i will wait to see you tomorrow. The lump is on her belly more to one side and towards the back (dependingon how she is laying). I already lost 2 cats this year and I have one now with lymph node cancer mesentary. If she continues with her usual behavior of up and wanting attention tonight, is it safe to wait until the 8th or is it best for her to be seen sooner. I know to take her to the ER if she goes back to sleeping constantly….although that is her norm for daytime.

As always I appreciate and value your opinion.

Thanks
Sandy

My message was sent earlier today at which time Princess woke up and was playing with something. She went back to sleep and got up several hours ago to eat but then returned to the new bed I had gotten her. I brought out something that she likes to play with but she only played with it for about a minute and returned to her bed. I definitely will see you tomorrow with her and if she starts to exhibit anything more serious I will take her to the ER….unless you get this and think I should take her now. It is now 7:34 pm. This is around the time that she would start to get a little active.

Scooter, my cat for over 21 years slept by my chest every night. He became sick earlier this year and had to be euthanized. Within days of losing him one of my other cats has decided to do everything in her power to keep me up at night. She will knock things over, turn off my cpap machine, etc. until I finally give in and get up and go downstairs with her. I usually will do stuff on the computer or straighten up. She usually just sits by me and after about 2 hours I can go back up to bed followed by her for about 5 or 6 hours. She is healthy, playful, friendly. Lately she has gotten worse and wants to be up more often. Tried locking her out of our room but she has clawed the carpet and the door. I cannot lock her in another room because she will do the same thing. I have been so exhausted that on a few occasions I have put her in the carrier for a few hours so I can get some sleep. She goes in willingly and makes bo noise while she is in there. I have tried to keep her up several hours before going to bed but nothing works.

Any suggestions. Oh she is about 10 years old. One odd thing is that if one of my other cats is sleeping with me which is rare, she will not bother me.

Thank you

Hello. I am hoping Dr. Magnifico sees this message as she treated Samantha yesterday (Friday) for me.
She has found a quiet hiding place and I am able to pet her although she is not thrilled….turns her head. I have not seen her eat but I cannot rule it out because she may come out when we are asleep.
Do you think she could be in any pain? If not okay but if you do I have a syringe of 5 ml buprenorphine that was for Dexter but he did not need
It. I did not want to do anything without asking you. If you think it would help could I give her the med?

Another question. One if my other cats was diagnosed with probable lymphoma. I mentioned on Wednesday (I think it was Wednesday) that she had been sneezing from time to time but it was recommended that we hold off because we were already dealing with something major unless it got worse. She is doing it more frequently and seems to effect her purring. There is a good chance I may bring her in tomorrow to see you.

Thanks
Sandy

If you are reading this I want you to know that I truly appreciate you helping us out at the last minute yesterday because of my stupidity.

I just figured out which of my cats was having soft extremely fowl smelling poop. I put some of it into a collecting container
and plan to drop it off tomorrow before noon. If he goes again,
I will get the fresher sample but will the other one work? If so,
should I keep it in the refrigerator. In a bottle and a bag of course.

Thanks
Sandy Brown

Cat is Dexter who goes to Jarrettsville Veterinary Hospital

Hope Dr. Magnifico is reading this message soon as I do not know what to do. I noticed one of my cats, Dexter, attempting to pee on a cardboard box outside of the litter box. When I approached him he moved only to go to another area and attempt to pee. Having male cats blocked before or with UTI, I knew to keep watch on him. He was laying down and let me brush him for a while and acting okay. I then took a moist tissue and just patted his pee/butt area and a dried piece of poo came off. I thought yeah… that may be the problem because he immediately went to the litter box. After about 5 minutes he left the box without going to the bathroom. Should I take him to the emergency room or could it wait until you open in the morning. If you think I need to take him, which one do you recommend the most. Thanks Sandy Brown

One of my older cats, Fluffy, is favoring his left eye; upper and lower lids are pink. Tender to the touch around the eye. I plan to call for an appt in AM but is there anything I can do tonight to relieve obvious discomfort?